Symphonic (in)Sanity

Sunday, December 4, 2011

One of the blogs that I follow is the Home Educating Family Blog, and as an Educator, I love hearing about some of the resources that are available to supplement my own teaching, as well as exploring the thought of perhaps someday home schooling my own children.

The Home Educating Family Blog is having a contest, and the prize is a 30-lesson set from Visual Latin. I took Latin back in high school (Roma est in Italia...), and I am SO rusty! Head over to their blog to win a chance to learn Latin, and improve your vocabulary skills as you learn!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

I FINALLY replaced the case that has housed the trumpet I inherited from my little sister. It looked like it had been eaten by several lockers over the years.

I knew that there was another mouthpiece rattling around underneath the foam, so I had to pull the thing apart, and discovered not one, but TWO mouthpieces. Also, to my amusement, I found a program from a middle school graduation in '03, a copy of "Get Ready For This", and one of my sister's old middle school photos.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Thanks to my hubby, I was able to get in about 2 hours of freezer cooking. He was a big help (and he was just happy to lick the spoon after the Spicy Peanut Chicken was done cooking).

Here's the list!

6 lbs of strawberries (clearanced out at Meijer today), which will go into a batch of Strawberry jam later next week
2 batches of Easy Beef and Broccoli for the crock pot
9 individually-wrapped Herb-Crusted Pork Chops
9 pork chops (bagged in pairs, with one solo) with various marinades
2 batches of Spicy Peanut Chicken (the hubby's favorite!)
2 batches of Sweedish Steak for the crock pot
24 bananas (had several bunches go over-ripe on us in the last month) which will eventually go into Banana Bread
1 batch of Cheerio Bars (basically Rice Krispie Treats, but with Cheerios instead). We have an over-abundance of Cheerios in our house, and sleep in too long to sit and have a bowl of cereal in the morning. :-p

Not pictured: We got 5 gigantic zucchini from my in-laws, and I diced and froze enough zucchini for 13 batches of Zucchini Bread. :-p

Thursday, September 22, 2011

I didn't plant eggplant in my garden this year, because...well, I had no idea if I liked eggplant! I've eaten all sorts of odd and unique foods in my travels as a musician, and eggplant was never one of them. We received a few eggplants (does "eggplant" have a plural?) from my in-laws, and decided to look for something tasty. I stumbled across a recipe for Crispy Eggplant Parmesan, and I can say that I am hooked!

Now, just a fair warning...the sauce has a nice little bit of heat to it, but we like heat in our household. I also split the recipe and tried freezing half. I had the frozen batch tonight for dinner, and while it was still good, it went a little mushy. I think I like the "fresh and crispy" version a little better.

So, my husband walked out the door with BOTH sets of car keys, leaving me unable to do my pre-baking planned grocery run, and unable to go to my orchestra rehearsal tonight (boo...), so I took the opportunity to plow through the list of new shows in the DVR (he can't complain about watching them without him, now can he?) and IRONING.

I am happy to say that the Mr. now has NO unironed laundry. My stuff is a different story, however, I do not get as many opportunities to wear iron-worthy clothes lately, and I am more likely to up and iron the item I need myself.

Monday, September 19, 2011

This week has been full of highs and lows. I somehow managed to pull a muscle in my back, and it put me on the DL for most of the weekend. According to my hubby, I was OUT COLD for 2.5 hours on Sunday during one of the football games...which meant I never got up my anticipated series of Sunday posts giving my favorite Game Day meals and snacks. I will have to assemble this later in the week.

On the upside, I have 4 confirmed private students, and two more I am waiting to schedule. Things are starting to fall into place in those regards, which makes me feel less like a "unemployed" spouse. I am doing my best to take advantage of this time at home, and to be a wonderful spouse and homemaker for my wonderful husband (who has picked up extra teaching hours to close in some of the salary gap).

Here is my goal list from last week!1.1 load of laundry per day. The victory on this one actually belongs to the Mr., as he did some laundry for me while I was laid up.2. Ironing catch-up. The new television programs all come out this week, so I plan to take care of things while plowing through all of the new shows we've set to record. Being unable to move made this one a fail.3. Finalize office organization. Victory! My office is starting to look like...an office! We're just down to the boxes that were moved in from my classroom after my layoff, but I'm not counting those in the equation.4. New chore list. Fail.5. Finalize cross stitch wording. Fail.6. Sort/pack/donate one box or bag to Goodwill this week. This was my plan for Sunday afternoon, but my body said no. :-) Fail.7. Canning!Rather than canning, I turned quite a bit of what I had handy into freezer meals. I'm building up quite the stockpile of oven-ready meals to overcome the fact that I will get to see my husband all of 2 evenings a week.8. Follow up on sub lists. I have an orientation with one this week, and the other one isn't returning my calls, so I've emailed. At this point, I'm considering it complete.9. Contact local music teachers re: sub list. Half-complete. I have the names/emails of every teacher who was listed on the website. I've decided that a snail-mail letter might be a bit more professional than an email, so this is going on my list to accomplish this week. I have spiffy music letterhead in my stash to make it look cool. :-)10. Make sure my grad school homework is done every week! Done, but this will be an ongoing goal.

Here is my list for this upcoming week: 1. 1 load of laundry per day2. Ironing catch-up.3. New chore list.4. Finalize cross stitch wording.5. Sort/pack 1 box to donate to Goodwill.6. Mail out letters to local music teachers for subbing.7. Unpack/resort/repack boxes that came from my music room, and find a storage place in the house until the God-designed job comes along!8. Catch up on the coupon sorting (My MIL gave me 2 months worth of coupon inserts, and the clipping and inserting of those has me behind).9. Call the list of students who never contacted me back re: lessons.10. Grad school classwork.
What is your goal list this week?

Monday, September 12, 2011

It's been a hectic week, and some back problems (and several days of cold, rainy weather) put a damper on getting some goals accomplished. Here's my update!

My new goals list:1. Daily load of laundry2. Get TOTALLY caught up on ironing. Epic fail. This is going back on the list! 3. Complete office organization! I'm putting this back on the list. I'm down to a couple boxes of odds 'n ends, and then I'm including the boxes of items from my school, which need to be sorted/repacked/stored until a new teaching job comes along, and then the things that are school property need to be returned.4. FINALLY do the new chore list. Layoffs at the hubby's work and changes in my class schedule threw this for a loop. Giving this one another shot!5. Canning :-) Boo rain. Back on the list!6. I have two schools yet to contact re: subbing.I called them...they never called me back. So, done, but I think it needs to go back on the list7. Contact my assigned music students and get them scheduled.8. Cross-stitch wording...I think I know where the graph paper is now! Another epic fail.9. Box up as much of the items from our twice-failed garage sale and donate it to Goodwill so that we can reclaim our garage! Going to be a MUCH bigger project, so this is getting revised.10. Contact the music teachers in the districts I'm eligible to sub. Third epic fail. I'm on a roll!

Monday, September 5, 2011

This just seems like a crazy week, but I really feel like I got a LOT accomplished!
Here is my list from last week.1. 1 load of laundry per day.2. Finish organization of the office. (Super close to being done! The desk and table are cleaned off and purged of clutter, so I'm down to 2 boxes of books and a huge pile of music that needs to be sorted and filed in the cabinet that is currently blocked by the boxes of books)3. Put together new chore list. Changes at the hubby's work changed his work schedule majorly, so we're bumping this yet another week. 4. Order baking supplies.5. Follow up on city school sub list.6. Finalize the wording for Thomas' cross stitch.7. Schedule classes!!8. Put together blocks of lesson availability for the music store.9. Transfer coupons to new coupon binder. 10. 1 new app this week. There's just...not much out there. I did, however, have orientation for subbing at the ESC, so I at least am on the lists to start working!

My new goals list:1. Daily load of laundry2. Get TOTALLY caught up on ironing so that we know what hubby has in the wardrobe and what needs replaced so he looks all professional for the start of his next term of teaching. 3. Complete office organization!4. FINALLY do the new chore list...which should be easier to handle now that we know what our respective schedules are going to be.5. Canning :-) The sweet corn and beans should be ready in the garden, and I have some beans still to can from my mother-in-law!6. I have two schools yet to contact re: subbing. 7. Contact my assigned music students and get them scheduled.8. Cross-stitch wording...I think I know where the graph paper is now!9. Box up as much of the items from our twice-failed garage sale and donate it to Goodwill so that we can reclaim our garage!10. Contact the music teachers in the districts I'm eligible to sub for to let them know that I'm on their list. I always hated taking sick days, because I knew it was unlikely that I would have a musician for a sub...and therefore my students would fall behind. I know teachers can often request subs, so I want to see that my foot is in the door.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

I've started putting together weekly goals since I've been home more. Makes me feel good to check things off, and I don't feel like my time at home has been totally useless! :-)

Here's last week's list and the updates:1. Wash/Dry/Fold/Iron 1 load of laundry every day. I half-did this. I did laundry, but didn't iron. :-p2. Apply to 1 new job every day! I received word that I will be on the sub list for the surrounding county schools (orientation on Wednesday), and I applied to sub for the city schools...still waiting to hear on that. I also have been accepted as a private lesson teacher at the local music store!! It sounds like they have a decent waiting list, so I just need to readjust my fees (to account for the studio rental fee) and put together my availability.3. Put together a new chore list. Fail. :-) Putting it on next week's list.4. Sign up for college classes. It would be nice if the people I needed answered their emails, and the rest didn't do the "you need to talk to someone else" pass-off. I'm making phone calls this week5. Clean/organize the office and make it functional. We're half done! My desk area is purged of clutter, reorganized (I had no idea I had so many red pens and post-it pads), and cleaned. Going to work on the table/workstation and random boxes this week6. Clean out/scrub down the fridge. Success!7. Prep for my MVSO audition! Done! There were no openings on my instrument, so I'm on their sub list. :-)8. Plan out the lettering for Thomas' cross stitch project. Can't find the graph paper. Hoping the office clean uncovers that.9. Order baking supplies. Wanted to make sure that bills would clear and I potentially had more income before I spent money. :-)10. Contact my private students to get lessons set up for the fall. Still waiting to hear back from a couple, but everyone has been contacted.

So here's my list for next week!1. 1 load of laundry per day.2. Finish organization of the office.3. Put together new chore list. 4. Order baking supplies.5. Follow up on city school sub list.6. Finalize the wording for Thomas' cross stitch.7. Schedule classes!!8. Put together blocks of lesson availability for the music store.9. Transfer coupons to new coupon binder. I have long since outgrown my old coupon file, and needed something with greater capacity. It looks like I may need more sheets (I used the baseball card plastic sheets, and it works pretty well), so I may buy those as funds are available. Wal-Mart had the zippered 3-ring binders, which saves me in case coupons decide to escape the sheets, and the one I bought has a file section that is great for ads and coupon inserts.10. 1 new app this week. We're at the point where 1 app a day for teaching jobs just isn't going to happen. My goal is one application per week, whether to sub or for a long-term job.

Monday, August 22, 2011

It's been a major mental turnaround the last couple of weeks. It's taken my brain a while to wrap around how my life is changing, and I think I'm a little less frantic and a bit more organized. I just finished up 2 applications, and getting ready to hand-deliver some materials and to apply to sub in town.

With the sudden influx of at-home time, I took a little inspiration from Money Saving Mom, and have created my own list of goals for the week. I hope that you will help to keep me accountable!

1. Wash/Dry/Fold/Iron 1 load of laundry every day. (My laundry is REALLY good at getting out of control!)2. Apply to 1 new job every day!3. Put together a new chore list. Since our schedules have changed (and the last list fell victim to the puppy), I want to ensure that our cleaning also doesn't get ahead of us. The house is a bit of a wreck after the summer employment, and I want to take advantage of my new time at home to get things back under control.4. Sign up for college classes. I think I'm going to begin adding a certification/endorsement. I'm debating between English, Special Ed, or Technology. Any suggestions?
5. Clean/organize the office and make it functional. The office has long since been the "dumping ground" in our house, and with the hubby and I both pursuing higher ed degrees (he started his PhD this summer, I'm so proud of him!), and since I am much more productive when I am not in front of the television, I want to make this a productive working room.6. Clean out/scrub down the fridge. My baking supplies have conquered the fridge, and now it's just a disorganized mess!7. Prep for my MVSO audition! After encouragement from several people in the pit orchestra I played in this last month, I've signed up to audition for their sub list!8. Plan out the lettering for Thomas' cross stitch project. I'm FINALLY done with the detail work (have I mentioned that metallic blending thread is a thorn in my side?), and the only thing left is the names and date. Need to plan that out so that I can finish this off and get it framed for them.9. Order baking supplies. I'm almost out of muffin cups, and you can't find these at Kroger. :-)10. Contact my private students to get lessons set up for the fall. This moves to the bottom of the list because I need to know my class schedule before I can set up dates for lessons. Several of my students took the summer off, so since I am now unemployed, this funding becomes crucial to the budget.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

I can't count how many times students have asked me "So why did you want to teach music?" I think today sums it all up.

I've been working on planning for the band program for the past few months, and one of my little 8th graders "Z" was so excited at the thought of being in the high school band next year. On the night of our instrument fitting, she quickly determined that she wanted to play a clarinet, and she sat in my room for the entire 4 HOUR fitting, "playing" the clarinet during any time it wasn't in use. The local music store came in for the parent meeting last week, and Z had to inform me that her father told her that she couldn't be in band because of financial reasons. She was very upset, and I told her that I would see what we could do, but that I wasn't sure how many (if any) school instruments we would be able to get.

Through the generosity of others, and through a project on DonorsChoose.org, we will be receiving a clarinet over the summer! The project reached completion last night, and I told little Z this morning. She was SO excited, jumped up and down, wrapped her arms around my neck. "Really?!?!" It's moments like these, when I see how excited a student is about becoming a musician, that make me want to be a music teacher. Moments like these make up for all of the days of horrible student behaviors, days of ISS coverage during my free periods, and any other "crappy days" we have as a teacher. To know that you make the difference in the life of one child...that's why I'm a music teacher.

If you have never visited DonorsChoose, please visit their site, find a project that means something to you, and help out a teacher in need of supplies or classroom equipment. We as teachers all know how hard it can be to function without some of the basic supplies, and you can donate as little as $5 to the classroom project of your choice, and your donations combined with the donations of others can make a huge difference in the lives of students.

If you want to see more of my projects, check out my teacher page! I'm not actively asking you to donate to my classroom, but it WOULD be really nice to have a bass drum for my classroom. :-)

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Groupon in Cincinnati has an offer for $15 for $30 at The Penguin Dueling Piano Bar. If you click on my link, you may have to look under "more offers", since it isn't today's offer. I know several of my friends enjoy going there, so thought that I would share!